People Don't Want Teachers (part 2)

My last post on People Don't Want Teachers, I mentioned how in my area, there aren't a lot of parent run homeschool co-ops but instead hybrid schools so parents can essentially check out for a few hours or even for a full day.  I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, (especially since I live my child-free Mondays) it is just an observation that parents like to take advantage of the time the kids are with teachers, meaning these teachers also become babysitters.

In public schools, this is multiplied exponentially. I remember standing at the school bus stop back when my kids went to public school.  Mom's started debating year round schooling.  One mom insisted that it was necessary because parent's didn't get summers off and had to PAY for childcare during that time of the year.  She felt that if school was year round, then parents would be able to save money and not need childcare.  I was kinda floored. When I replied that childcare was not the purpose of school, learning was, she got annoyed.

I think of parents, we must learn to differentiate between education and childcare for our kids.  While the two things can and do overlap, we musn't fool ourselves that when our kids are not in our care, that someone else isn't parenting them.  We also musn't fool ourselves that all the time spent in school or in classrooms are spent actively learning.


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People don't want teachers

 People don't want teachers... they want babysitters.

My husband and I were just having a conversation about SKYPE.  He was telling me about someone he knows who got an online certificate to marry people and now he is not only marrying people, but he is doing it without ever leaving his home!... He just fires up his iPad, and he marries them virtually!

I know Skype is awesome I say, while the virtual officiant thing is stupid (IMOP). Too bad that would never work for homeschool teachers, is the next thing I realize.  Too many parents want to be able to leave and go take a break when their children are taking classes and tutoring.  They don't just want to person to impart knowledge to their kids... they want them to take full charge of them...to babysit them as well.

I think this is why homeschool co-ops aren't working in my area.  We had a great co-op once, but none of the parents wanted to teach or supervise.  Now, instead we are all paying private school prices for our kids to be in a homeschool-school one or two days a week, and taking a spa day for ourselves.

I can't condemn it is a horrible thing if I am doing it myself...  but it is an interesting realization.

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Things that blow me away about public school.

It blows me away when a parent does not know that their child is failing in school.

It blows me away when a parent somehow doesn't see report cards.

It blows me away that schools don't require face to face meetings when a child fails a class or two or three.

It blows me away that my local school charges parents for summer school classes... it almost seems like a racket.  Let the child fail with no intervention and then charge the parent an arm and a leg to take the class again.

Is it just me bothered by these things.


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Homeschooling does not have to be expensive.



Note:  The inexpensive curriculum I purchased for my nephew were "Teacher Wraparound" editions of public school textbooks.  These books have the same page the student's edition would have, but it is a bigger page with notes written on the sides and bottom to give the "teacher" information on presenting the material to the students.  A highly involved parent with average intelligence can easily teach from these books. 

Just search for "teacher wraparound" on Amazon.com with the subject you need.  Here's an example:

ps.  Older editions, USED, cost just a few dollars plus shipping. 


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12 grade year of homeschooling, Finishing Strong

We are almost done with my college prep series. There will still be a video on completing the transcript.    Stay tuned... meanwhile, ...